The FBI has charged 24-year-old Nigerian national Damilola Bamigboye in connection with resisting arrest and abducting a federal agent from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
According to People’s Gazette, the incident occurred on December 10 in Plymouth, Minnesota, when HSI agents were monitoring Bamigboye for overstaying his student visa.
What began as a routine surveillance operation escalated into a hostage situation involving a federal officer. Bamigboye was charged alongside Rekeya Frazier, who allegedly assisted in the abduction.
According to the FBI, agents had been observing Bamigboye from an unmarked vehicle equipped with sirens and lights while he sat in a Kia Optima outside his apartment. An SUV Jeep soon parked next to the Kia, with Bamigboye in the front passenger seat and Frazier driving. Noticing the law enforcement vehicle, Bamigboye masked his face and began moving items from the front to the back seat.
When the agents approached and identified themselves, Bamigboye allegedly grabbed the driver’s headrest and instructed Frazier to drive. FBI Special Agent Terry Getsch wrote in a report: “He yelled at Frazier, ‘Drive! Drive! Drive! Get in the car and drive now,’ or words to that effect.”
During the struggle, one agent tried to stop Frazier from starting the Jeep, while another attempted to pull Bamigboye from the back seat. Despite the struggle, Frazier started the vehicle, forcing an agent to jump out to avoid being hit. The first agent was carried involuntarily in the Jeep as it moved.
The agent repeatedly identified himself as a federal officer and tried to get Frazier to stop, but she threatened to crash the car and insisted on dropping him off at a police station. The pursuing Ford Explorer, with the original HSI officers, followed the Jeep with lights and sirens.
The Jeep eventually stopped in front of the New Hope Police Department, roughly two miles from Bamigboye’s residence. Bamigboye jumped out and fled into a nearby grocery store, where he was apprehended. Frazier initially resisted leaving the Jeep but was eventually taken into custody by local police.
During questioning, Bamigboye admitted to wrestling with a federal agent and instructing Frazier to drive away, claiming his actions were influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a previous kidnapping in Nigeria.
Special Agent Getsch noted that the FBI has probable cause to believe Bamigboye and Frazier planned to abduct a federal officer and violated Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 111, which covers assaulting or resisting federal officers.
Bamigboye has now been formally charged following an arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
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